Savory Waffles with Cheddar and Chives

Name: Savory Waffles with Cheddar and Chives
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup (70 grams) yellow cornmeal; 1/4 cup (28 grams) cornstarch; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon salt; A few good grinds black pepper; 2 cups buttermilk; 2 large eggs; 4 tablespoons (56 grams) butter, melted and cooled slightly; 3 ounces (84 grams) extra-sharp cheddar, shredded; 1/3 cup minced fresh chives

Carolyn Gratzer CopeMarch 3, 2017Updated January 25, 2020

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These savory waffles with cheddar and chives work equally well for breakfast, brunch or dinner. Top with a fried egg and a dollop of sour cream for a truly excellent meal.

Savory Waffles with Cheddar and Chives 780 | Umami Girl-2

Waffle…everything?

Growing up, we were team pancakes and didn’t own a waffle iron. I never minded. I didn’t give it much thought until several years ago, when people were suddenly waffling everything from mac and cheese to pizza.

Americans can ruin anything, right? And yet still make you kinda desperately want the thing we ruined? It’s a barf-emoji-face/heart-eyes-emoji face vicious cycle.

Savory waffles are a game-changer

I don’t have the time or the emotional energy to try to fix that nonsense right now.

But I did get a waffle iron.

And of course, being a true lover of umami, I’m sharing a savory waffles recipe before a sweet one. Cheddar, chives, cornmeal, buttermilk. Go ahead and try to argue with that.

My daughter tried to argue with it, actually. She prefers whipped cream and syrup and vanilla-scented sweetness. Last night, when I told the girls what I planned to make for dinner, she said, “Those aren’t exactly my favorite waffles.”

So I said, “I bet they’re your favorite waffles that I’m going to make tonight.“

Cashed in the Mom card. Suck it, sweet waffles. (And basically everything today, can you tell?)

Why we LOVE these savory waffles with cheddar and chives

Anyhoo.

The brilliant crispness of these waffles (which emerges after a quick stint in a low oven) is due to the cornstarch. I first learned this trick from Donna Hay and eventually developed this recipe with some heavy adaptations from Pamela Anderson’s waffles in Fine Cooking. (No, not that Pamela Anderson.)

We love these waffles because they make an incredible breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner. They make the house smell amazing. They’re loaded with flavor and somehow also with comfort. They welcome a fried egg on top and a dollop of sour cream if you like. And they just make you happy. How’s that?

collage of ingredients going into a white mixing bowl including flour, cornmeal, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper, and mixing the dry ingredients together

Waffle ingredients

To make this meal, you will need:

Flour
Cornmeal
Cornstarch
Baking powder
Baking soda
Salt and pepper
Buttermilk
Eggs
Melted butter
Extra-sharp cheddar cheese
Minced chives
And, if you like, a fried egg and a dollop of sour cream for serving

collage of buttermilk and eggs going into a pyrex measuring cup, being mixed and then poured into the white mixing bowl with the dry ingredients and mixed gently but thoroughly. Then cheddar and chives are added.

How to make savory waffles

There’s nothing fancy or difficult about making waffles with cheddar and chives. You can watch the whole process in the video accompanying this post. Here’s what you’ll do:

First, mix together the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. You’ll stir together the flour, cornmeal, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper until they’re well-combined.
Next, in a bowl or glass measuring cup (our preference), you’ll beat together with a fork the buttermilk and eggs until they’re well-combined.
You’ll add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir gently but thoroughly.
Then stir in some melted butter, and then shredded cheddar and minced chives.

collage where cheddar and chives are added to mixing bowl, waffle iron is preheated, and batter is spooned into the waffle iron. Then cooked golden-brown waffles are shown being removed from the iron.

You’ll cook the batter in batches in your preheated waffle iron until the waffles are golden brown.
And you’ll pop them into a low oven (just 200°F/93°C) directly on the rack for a couple of minutes to crisp them up a little extra on the outsides if you like.
Waffles are ready to serve! We recommend a fried egg on top and a dollop of sour cream.

Final collage shows an egg being fried and flipped in a nonstick frying pan and then the meal being assembled and cut into, with a bite ready to eat on a fork.

About our waffle iron

I don’t take the buying of single-purpose kitchen tools lightly, but we could not be happier with our waffle iron. This is the waffle iron we’ve had for a few years now, and I’m still as madly in love as ever.

Can you make these waffles in advance?

You can! Let’s say you’re hosting a big brunch and want to make a whole bunch of these waffles ahead of time. Or maybe you want a workweek’s worth of quick but fabulous breakfasts or dinners. You got it!

Make the waffles and simply reheat and recrisp them either in the oven at 200‚F (for a big batch) or in the toaster oven for a single serving.

Add-ins and substitutions

We think these waffles are perfection the way they are. But you can have a little fun with your own variations if you like. You could:

Add a minced shallot to the batter
Swap out the cheddar cheese for Gruyere or smoked gouda
Stir cooked, crumbled bacon into the batter
Top them with smoked salmon

What to serve with savory waffles

If you like, try these waffles with:

A simple kale salad
Or broccolini with gremolata
Bacon made in the oven (one of our favorite tricks)
To make them really indulgent, top with blender Hollandaise sauce

fried-egg topped waffles on a white plate against a blue wood background

Hungry for more?

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